Movie Night
by zoebrenn
Summary: Callen joins the others for Movie Night.  A short Callen/Nell drabble.  Enjoy!


**Just a short one-shot of Callen/Nell drabble. Enjoy! Zoe**

Callen looked up at the typical LA condo before him and sucked in a deep breath. He still wasn't sure quite how he had been talked into this and all the way over he contemplated turning the car around and just going home to sit in his house in the dark and play chess against himself. There was only one reason, or rather one person, that had kept him on the road. He wasn't sure when it had happened but at some point Callen had started to care a lot more than he should for a certain intelligence analyst. Maybe it was because she was unlike any woman he had ever met before; a crazy mix of confidence, intelligence, wit and sarcasm, and was a constant surprise. Maybe it was because at the end of the day she always made sure to tell him (and the others) she was glad he (and they) made it back in one piece and he had started to like that someone cared enough to express it. All he really knew was that the more he was around her the more he wanted to be around her. And that was why Callen was standing outside Eric's condo about to sit through movie night with Eric, Kensi , Deeks and the object of his desire, Nell Jones.

Raising his fist, Callen knocked on Eric's front door.

"Callen. Hey. Welcome." Eric greeted the Senior Agent in Charge and quickly stepped aside to let him through. Callen didn't miss that Eric looked a little surprised that he had actually showed up. He had been invited to several movie nights before but had always found a reason not to go.

"Eric." Callen nodded as he walked into the Technical Operator's condo. He could hear Deeks and Kensi arguing in the lounge and he turned to Eric with a questioning look.

"They've been arguing about which movie to watch for the last fifteen minutes." Eric sighed. "Nell has been playing referee but I don't think she's having much luck."

"Got beer?" Callen asked with a sigh. Eric laughed and led Callen through the hall and to the lounge. Kensi and Deeks were squared off against each other, each holding a DVD box. Nell was standing between them looking somewhat dwarfed by the taller agents and sporting a look of sheer frustration.

"Kensi, Deeks, please." Nell sighed. "Eric, a little help?" she asked when she saw he had returned.

"I'm not getting between that." Eric held his hands up defensively as Kensi and Deeks switched their glares from each other to Eric.

"Oh hey Callen." Deeks was distracted by Callen's arrival just long enough to give Kensi an opening to snatch the DVD from his hand, a triumphant look on her face.

"We're watching this." She thrust her DVD at Nell who Callen noted, looked hopelessly bemused at the situation. He watched her look down at the DVD and if he wasn't mistaken, a flash of concern crossed her face. But as quickly as it appeared it was gone and she had turned to put the DVD in.

"Who needs a beer?" Eric asked. In the few moments it had taken to set up the DVD he had gone to the fridge and returned with several open bottles of Bud.

Nell hated horror movies. Not the bloody gory ones, those she could handle. But ghostly, psychological horror movies kept her on the edge of her seat and also had the unfortunate effect of making her reach out and grab the nearest thing to her whenever anything unexpected and remotely scary happened. Logically she knew there was nothing to be afraid of. It was a movie and none of it was real. Yet here she was, sitting in the middle of the small couch with her knees drawn up to her chest jumping and gasping at every little thing. She was sandwiched between Eric who on one side of her, was leaning forward watching the movie with perhaps a little too much enthusiasm and Callen on the other, who was leaning back against the couch looking incredibly relaxed. A glance to her left and she locked onto Deeks in the armchair, his gaze shifting between the TV and Kensi, who was stretched out on the floor on her stomach, her head propped up in her hands, elbows resting on a pillow. Nell was momentarily distracted, wondering when those two would just admit there was more to their partnership. But a sudden flash on the screen and a scream from the lead character startled her and she instinctively reached out for something to hold onto. She didn't even realise what she had gripped until she heard him whispering in her ear.

"You're cutting off my circulation Nell." Startled, she turned to face Callen then looked down and saw she was gripping his forearm, her knuckles white.

"Sorry." She released her grip and drew her arm back. Callen moved his arm to the safety of the back of the couch. It was only when he glanced over that he realised how close his arm was to being around her shoulders. The couch wasn't big, not really meant for three bodies, and with Nell pressing her back into the couch like she wished it would swallow her, his arm was barely an inch from touching her. His hand twitched as he restrained himself from letting it fall down onto her shoulder. As much as he acknowledged the new feelings he had for Nell, he knew she didn't feel the same and he couldn't risk alienating her by making an unwanted gesture, not to mention unintentionally letting his team mates know about his silly little crush. Instead he settled for watching her subtly out the corner of his eye.

Nell had her arms wrapped around her knees which were tucked right up to her chest, her whole body incredibly tense. Callen didn't have to be a genius to work out that Nell was one of those people who just did not like horror films and it explained the fleeting look of fear he had seen on her face earlier. As the movie intensified, he watched her twitch and jump, clearly scared by what she was watching. The fact that Eric had turned off most of the lights to 'create an atmosphere' probably wasn't helping. It was kinda cute, given how in control Nell normally was.

An hour into the movie Nell suddenly stood up.

"I need a beer. Anyone else?" she asked. As the others grunted responses, she stepped over Callen's legs which were stretched out in front of him blocking her way out from the couch, her hand using his knee to steady herself as she squeezed past. Callen followed her with his eyes as she made her way to Eric's fridge, then with the others completely engrossed in the movie, he rose to his feet and followed her.

Nell had her head in the fridge, looking at the beer on offer when he approached.

"Got one for me?" Callen asked. Nell jumped and spun around, her hand flying to her chest.

"God, you scared me." She gasped.

"Sorry." Callen laughed. "But it's not hard to do."

"Are you making fun of me?" she asked with a slight frown on her face.

"Of course not." Callen smiled. "But you have to admit, you're more on edge in there watching that movie than you are when we're hunting down terrorists and killers."

"I can't explain it." she said as the frown faded.

"It's human nature." Callen shrugged.

"You're not scared, neither are the others." Nell glanced over at the rest of the team.

"Maybe I just hide it well." He smiled. Nell laughed a little before turning and pulled two bottles of beer from the fridge.

"Here, take these to Deeks and Kensi. I'll get ours and Eric's." She turned back to the fridge and reached in for three more.

Seated back on the couch having handed over the beer to Deeks and Kensi, Callen waited for Nell to come back. Once again she squeezed past him, carefully holding the bottles so she wouldn't spill them. Then after handing the beers to he and Eric, she plopped down onto the couch with her own beer and drew her legs up, crossing them under her.

"Here." Callen handed her a cushion. "You might need this – I've seen this movie before and it gets pretty hairy until the end."

"Gee, thanks." Nell smarted but she accepted the cushion all the same.

Callen spent the rest of the night watching Nell more than he did the movie. She hid her face behind the cushion for most of it and he was entertained by every little gasp and squeak. He rarely saw her outside of the office where she was professional and controlled and this new side to her was enlightening. Several times she caught him laughing at something she had done and she would send him a glare of disapproval before disappearing behind the cushion again.

He didn't mind that Nell didn't seem to think of him as anything but a co-worker and friend. She treated him no differently to how she did Sam or Deeks, in fact sometimes it was like she didn't even notice he was there. She paid Eric a lot of attention. Callen had seen the way they interacted and he figured she was probably more into the surfing technical genius with them having so much more in common and being a lot closer in age. He had accepted he would never stand a chance with her so he was content to watch from afar, enjoying the moments he did spend with her and being thankful that she had come into his life and brightened each day just a little.

If he only knew that Nell didn't punch the boys she liked – she ignored them.

**Thanks for reading - I hope you leave a review. Zoe**


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